20 multiple-choice (MCQ / objective) questions from this chapter, in the common exam-style shapes. Every question comes with an explanation along with the answer, so you remember why the option is correct, not just which one it is.
1 Direct Questions
Direct Questions
- 1 markWho wrote “Journey to the End of the Earth”?
(A) Jack Finney(B) Tishani Doshi(C) Kalki(D) Pearl S. Buck - 1 markThe essay is best described as a:
(A) Biography of a scientist(B) Short story with invented characters(C) Travelogue / personal essay(D) Drama - 1 markThe ship on which the writer travelled to Antarctica was called:
(A) Akademik Shokalskiy(B) Endurance(C) Discovery(D) Titanic - 1 markGondwana existed approximately how many years ago, according to the essay?
(A) 650 million(B) 500 million(C) 12,000(D) 90 million - 1 markAccording to the essay, what percentage of the Earth’s total ice volumes are stored in Antarctica?
(A) 90 per cent(B) 50 per cent(C) 100 per cent(D) 65 per cent - 1 markThe largest recorded iceberg, the essay says, was the size of:
(A) Madras(B) Antarctica(C) India(D) Belgium - 1 markThe Students on Ice programme had been running for how many years at the time the essay was written?
(A) Twenty(B) Twelve(C) Two(D) Six
2 Assertion-Reason
Assertion-Reason
- 1 markAssertion (A): The writer felt “an immediate and profound wonder” on reaching Antarctica.
Reason (R): India and Antarctica were once part of the same landmass, Gondwana.
(A) A and R are both true, and R correctly explains A(B) A and R are both true, but R does not explain A(C) A is true, but R is false(D) A is false, but R is true - 1 markAssertion (A): Geoff Green wanted to continue taking rich, retired tourists to Antarctica.
Reason (R): He wanted to give the future generation of policy-makers a life-changing experience instead.
(A) A and R are both true, and R correctly explains A(B) A and R are both true, but R does not explain A(C) A is true, but R is false(D) A is false, but R is true
3 Match the Following
Match the Following
- 1 markMatch List I with List II.
List I: (i) Akademik Shokalskiy (ii) Geoff Green (iii) Gondwana (iv) Phytoplankton
List II: (p) Head of Students on Ice (q) A giant supercontinent (r) The Russian research vessel (s) Microscopic sea plants
(A) i-p, ii-r, iii-s, iv-q(B) i-r, ii-p, iii-q, iv-s(C) i-q, ii-s, iii-p, iv-r(D) i-s, ii-q, iii-r, iv-p - 1 markMatch List I with List II.
List I: (i) Simile (ii) Metaphor (iii) Open question (iv) First-person narration
List II: (p) “My journey began…” (q) “like walking into a giant ping-pong ball” (r) “Will the West Antarctic ice sheet melt entirely?” (s) “a great metaphor for existence” (the phytoplankton parable)
(A) i-r, ii-p, iii-q, iv-s(B) i-s, ii-r, iii-p, iv-q(C) i-q, ii-s, iii-r, iv-p(D) i-p, ii-q, iii-s, iv-r
4 Statement-Based Questions
Statement-Based Questions
- 1 markConsider the following statements.
Statement I: The essay states that the West Antarctic ice sheet will definitely melt within this century.
Statement II: The essay only poses this as an open question and does not give a definite answer.
(A) Statement I is false, Statement II is true(B) Both statements are true, and Statement II explains Statement I(C) Both statements are true, but Statement II does not explain Statement I(D) Statement I is true, Statement II is false - 1 markConsider the following statements.
Statement I: Antarctica is the only place in the world that has never sustained a human population.
Statement II: This is why the essay describes it as relatively “pristine.”
(A) Statement I is false, Statement II is true(B) Both statements are true, and Statement II explains Statement I(C) Statement I is true, Statement II is false(D) Both statements are true, but Statement II does not explain Statement I
5 Arrange in the Correct Order
Arrange in the Correct Order
- 1 markArrange these events in the order they happen in the essay.
1. The Shokalskiy wedges into ice near Tadpole Island
2. The writer first sets foot on the Antarctic continent
3. All 52 people walk on the ocean
4. The writer’s journey begins at Madras
(A) 2-3-1-4(B) 2-4-1-3(C) 1-4-2-3(D) 4-2-1-3
6 Fill in the Blanks
Fill in the Blanks
- 1 mark“My journey began ______ degrees north of the Equator in Madras.”
(A) 12(B) 13.09(C) 90(D) 65.55 - 1 markStudents on Ice is headed by the Canadian ______.
(A) Tishani Doshi(B) Captain Shokalskiy(C) Geoff Green(D) Wachter
7 Odd One Out
Odd One Out
- 1 markThree of these numbers appear in this essay. Which one does not?
(A) 12,000 years (age of human civilisation)(B) 40 years (a teacher’s career)(C) 90 per cent (Earth’s ice in Antarctica)(D) 650 million years (Gondwana’s age)
8 Passage-Based Questions
Passage-Based Questions
Passage
Six hundred and fifty million years ago, a giant amalgamated southern supercontinent — Gondwana — did indeed exist, centred roughly around the present-day Antarctica. Things were quite different then: humans hadn’t arrived on the global scene, and the climate was much warmer, hosting a huge variety of flora and fauna. For 500 million years Gondwana thrived, but around the time when the dinosaurs were wiped out and the age of the mammals got under way, the landmass was forced to separate into countries, shaping the globe much as we know it today.
- 1 markAccording to the passage, what happened to Gondwana around the time the dinosaurs were wiped out?
(A) It split into two equal halves(B) It grew even larger(C) It was forced to separate into countries(D) It merged with Asia
Passage
My Antarctic experience was full of such epiphanies, but the best occurred just short of the Antarctic Circle at 65.55 degrees south. The Shokalskiy had managed to wedge herself into a thick white stretch of ice between the peninsula and Tadpole Island which was preventing us from going any further. The Captain decided we were going to turn around and head back north, but before we did, we were all instructed to climb down the gangplank and walk on the ocean. So there we were, all 52 of us, kitted out in Gore-Tex and glares, walking on a stark whiteness that seemed to spread out forever. Underneath our feet was a metre-thick ice pack, and underneath that, 180 metres of living, breathing, salt water.
- 1 markAccording to the passage, what prevented the Shokalskiy from going any further?
(A) Mechanical failure(B) A storm(C) Fuel shortage(D) Thick ice that stopped the ship’s progress
9 True / False
True / False
- 1 markConsider the following statements.
(i) Phytoplankton are large fish that live near Antarctica.
(ii) They use sunlight to carry out photosynthesis.
(A) Both are true(B) Both are false(C) Only (i) is true(D) Only (ii) is true
Answer Key and Explanations
Direct Questions
- (B) The essay is written by the Indian writer Tishani Doshi, in the first person, about her own journey to Antarctica.
- (C) It is non-fiction: a first-person travelogue recording a real journey the writer made, not a story with invented characters.
- (A) The essay names the vessel as “a Russian research vessel — the Akademik Shokalskiy.”
- (A) The essay says, “Six hundred and fifty million years ago, a giant amalgamated southern supercontinent — Gondwana — did indeed exist.”
- (A) The essay states that “90 per cent of the Earth’s total ice volumes are stored” in Antarctica.
- (D) The essay notes icebergs “as big as countries (the largest recorded was the size of Belgium).”
- (D) “It’s been in operation for six years now, headed by Canadian Geoff Green.”
Assertion-Reason
- (A) Both are true, and R is the main cause the essay names for the wonder, alongside its immensity and isolation: “mainly at how there could ever have been a time when India and Antarctica were part of the same landmass.”
- (D) A is false: the essay says Green “got tired of carting celebrities and retired, rich, curiosity-seekers who could only ‘give’ back in a limited way,” so he did not want to continue with them. R is true: with Students on Ice, “he offers the future generation of policy-makers a life-changing experience,” exactly as the essay states.
Match the Following
- (B) The Shokalskiy is the vessel (r), Geoff Green heads Students on Ice (p), Gondwana is the supercontinent (q), and phytoplankton are the microscopic sea plants (s).
- (C) The ping-pong-ball comparison is a simile (q), the phytoplankton parable is explicitly called a metaphor (s), the ice-sheet question is an open question the essay answers only with “Maybe. Maybe not.” (r), and “My journey began” is first-person narration (p).
Statement-Based Questions
- (A) Statement I is false: the essay never gives a definite prediction. Statement II is true: it only asks “Will the West Antarctic ice sheet melt entirely?” and answers “Maybe. Maybe not.”
- (D) (D) Both are true, but Statement II does not explain Statement I. The essay says Antarctica is relatively ‘pristine’ in this respect because it ‘has never sustained a human population’, so Statement I is the reason for Statement II, not the reverse.
Arrange in the Correct Order
- (D) The journey begins at Madras (4), she then sets foot on the continent (2), the ship later gets stuck near Tadpole Island (1), and finally everyone walks on the ocean (3).
Fill in the Blanks
- (B) The essay’s exact figure is “13.09 degrees north of the Equator.”
- (C) “Headed by Canadian Geoff Green”: the essay names him as the programme’s head.
Odd One Out
- (B) “40 years” does not appear anywhere in this essay. The other three numbers all appear in it.
Passage-Based Questions
- (C) The passage says, “around the time when the dinosaurs were wiped out… the landmass was forced to separate into countries.”
- (D) The passage says the ship “had managed to wedge herself into a thick white stretch of ice between the peninsula and Tadpole Island which was preventing us from going any further.”
True / False
- (D) (i) is false: phytoplankton are microscopic, single-celled plants, not fish. (ii) is true, stated directly in the essay.
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